Table of contents
**NOTE**
This article only contains information on creating items for News. For the complete guide to using all the features in News, including the block editor information shown below, please see the Creating and Managing News Items article.
Quick Guide
(For those familiar with news editors/block editors. Features mentioned in the following steps are covered further in the Detailed Guide section)
- In the News view, click the "+" in the action bar at the top.
- From the menu, select a template for your News item.
- Give your item a title and select the category you want to post it under.
- Add content to your draft. To add a new block, click the "+" button to the left of the draft and select the appropriate block for the type of content you want to add.
- In the column on the right, you can select the Tile Cover for your article as well as set the publishing options for your item.
- At any time, you can go to the top right corner, open the action menu and select Save draft.
- When you’re ready to post your item, click the Publish button.
Detailed Guide
Creating News items with the block editor allows you to add multiple types of content to the same article and manage each of them independently, without having to worry about spacing or formatting.
The current content blocks include:
- Text - can be manually entered or if format-free, copy and pasted
- Image - browse and select or drag and drop image(s) into your article
- Poll - create user surveys, answers can be image or text-based
- Video - add videos from services like YouTube, Vimeo
- Link Preview - takes a URL and turns it into a clickable preview of the content found there.
- File Attachment - attach up to 6 files to your News item
- Embed - add embeddable content like forms and charts (and videos as well)
Getting started
To create your own News item, go to the action bar at the top of the News view, click on the Create New Item button (“+”), and select Blank Article, or any one of the other quick-start templates listed (details below).
Templates
Blank article
"Blank article" is the base template for all the quick-start templates, so its features (shown below) will be included by default no matter what type of item you choose to create:
- Category select (featuring your customized News categories, learn more here)
- Title bar (titles have a limit of 100 characters)
- Text block (the block will expand with each line you type)
- Add block menu (click the + button to select the next type of block you want to add to your News item)
All quick-start templates
- Blank article (Title field + Text block)
- Blog post (Blank Article + above-title Image block)
- Poll (Blank Article + Poll block)
- Album (Blank Article + below-title Image block, w/gallery view for multiple images)
- Video (Blank Article + Video block for service-hosted videos)
The Blog post quick-start template on desktop and mobile (in beta):
TIP
- You can add/remove/rearrange any combination of blocks to your News item, regardless of which template you choose to start off with.
Web Article
There is one other option, but it is not a block editor template. Selecting Web Article allows you to insert the URL of an external article or blog post and pull it into your own News.
Using the block editor
To add a new block to your News item on desktop, hover over any block and click the “+” on the left side and select the type of block you want from the menu.
On mobile (in beta), tap the block above where you’d like to add a new block, then click the “+” at the bottom of the screen to reveal the menu.
Note: A new text block can also be added by pressing the “Enter/Return” key on your keyboard instead of using the “+” menu.
Repositioning blocks
To reposition a block in your News item on desktop, hover your cursor over the block to reveal the up and down arrow icon. When the up and down arrow icon is visible, drag it up or down to reposition the block to its new location.
On mobile, tap the block you’d like to reposition and then tap the up or down arrow at the bottom of the screen to reposition the block.
Deleting blocks
To delete a block on desktop, hover your cursor over a block to reveal the “three dots” to the right of the block. Click the "three dots" to open the block’s options menu and then select “Delete block”.
On mobile, tap the block you’d like to delete and then tap the “three dots” at the bottom of the screen and then select “Delete block”.
Note: Each block type will have different options in the “three dots” menu, but all blocks will have the option to delete a block in this menu.
Using the blocks
1. Text block
Along the top of the News editor are your text options (bold, italics, underline, strikethrough, hyperlink) and formatting options. (NOTE — text color options are currently not available).
You can access the format options for your block content by clicking on the arrow and opening the dropdown menu.
TIPS
- The Heading options aren't just for headings. For example, if you want your overall font size to be larger than the default size of "Paragraph", you can type your whole text block in "Heading 3" instead.
- When using a text block, pressing Enter/Return on your keyboard will create a new block. To start a new paragraph within your current block, hold down Shift+Return.
- If you want to include a list in your block, change the block format to Bulleted list or Numbered list (you can do this before or after typing the first item on your list). You'll then be able to hit "Enter" or "Return" after each item and populate your list within that block.
2. Image block
When an image block is first added to your News item, you can drag and drop images directly into it or browse your files and select the images you want to add. Once added, you can also add a caption for the image in the field directly below the image.
On desktop, click on the "three dots" to the right of the block to access the options menu.
On mobile (in beta), tap the image block, and then the options menu will turn on so you can access it.
Click on Edit image if you want to rotate, crop, and/or fill the image to the frame.
If you Add more images to your Image block, it will automatically turn it into a gallery and display the additional images in a scroll above the main image. To change the order of the images in the gallery, tap the "three dots" to the right of the block and then select Reorder gallery.
And if you want to add multiple full-sized images to your News item instead, then use a separate block for each image.
3. Poll block
When you first add a Poll block, you'll see the settings where you can customize details like the number of options participants can select, the poll’s closing time, and whether votes will be anonymous.
Once you’ve configured these settings, you can revisit them any time by tapping the "three dots" located to the right of the block.
Adding options
To add an option to your poll on desktop, hover over the poll block and then click the “+ Add another option”. You can also add a new option simply by pressing "Enter/Return" on your keyboard while editing your options.
On mobile (in beta), tap the poll block and then tap the “+ Add another option”. A new option can also be added by pressing the “Enter/Return” key on your keyboard when an option field is selected.
Repositioning options
To reposition an option in your poll block when on desktop, hover your cursor over the block to reveal the up and down arrow icon. When the up and down arrow icon is visible, drag it up or down to reposition the option to its new location.
On mobile (in beta), tap the poll and then tap down arrow to reposition the option.
Deleting options
To delete an option on desktop, hover your cursor over a block to reveal the “three dots” to the right of the block. Click the "three dots" to open the block’s options menu and then select “Delete option”.
On mobile (in beta), tap the poll block, tap the “three dots” and then select “Delete option”.
If you click the image icon to the right of each option, you can select an image to display along with the option.
Once a poll closes, you will have the option to download a CSV file of the results from the action menu of the News item it was included in.
4. Video block
When a video block is first added to your News item, you can drag and drop a video file directly into it or browse your files and select the video file you want to add. A video can also be added to the block using a link.
On mobile (in beta), the same options are available.
If you’d like to add your video using a video file, tap the “Browse for file” button and select a file to upload.
If you’d like to add your video using a link, tap the “Link to video” button and paste the link into the input below. Once you’ve entered your link, click the Save button to add the video to your News item.
Once you’ve added a video to the block, you’ll be able to replace the video file or edit the link by tapping the three dot menu and selecting the action.
5. Link Preview block
The Link Preview block is an ideal way to share links in a way that allows your audience to see more details about the link before clicking on it. Some links shared via the Link Preview block will even allow users to do everything they need to without having to navigate away from your News item to the link.
Simply insert the link you want to include in the field provided and click Save. Your link will now appear as a preview with a thumbnail image and info blurb (if applicable).
To edit the link or change the layout of the Link Preview, hover over the Link Preview block and tap the three dots.
On mobile (in beta), tap the Link Preview block first and then tap the three dots.
6. File Attachment block
The File Attachment block allows you to attach up to 6 files, in any compatible format, to your News item. You can drag-and-drop the files or browse and select them.
On mobile though, it is only possible to browse for files and select them.
After your News item has been published, viewers will be able to tap on any of the attachments to preview the file in the viewer, then return to your News item by clicking the arrow in the top left corner of the preview.
7. Embed block
The Embed block can also be used to add videos, as well as any embeddable content, such as forms or tables and charts (for example, use the "Share" option on tables created in MS or Google products to retrieve an embed code and use that with the embed block to insert the table into your News article). The format and options are nearly identical to those of the Video block, except you’ll be entering embed code instead of a link.
After adding the blocks, paste your embed code in the given area and select Save to embed your content.
As with the Video block, you can only edit the code you entered, not the embedded content itself.
***
NOTE—below is a partial overview of the Options and Management features in News. These features are covered in more detail in the Creating and Managing News Items article (direct links included below, as well).
Options
In the column to the right of the block editor you’ll find all the optional settings available for your News item.
Tile Cover
The Tile Cover is where you set the image you want displayed for your article on the News view. To select your cover image, tap the Tile Cover or the “Change Cover” button.
Within the “My content” tab you’ll find Cover options based on the content in your article.
Use the “Search” tab to see AI-powered image suggestions (in beta) and search through options from an external image library. In the “Upload” tab, you’ll be able to add any image file as the Cover of your article.
Note: The AI image suggestion feature needs to be enabled for your organization by a System Administrator (Admin Settings > Manage Views and Options > News > Tile Cover Suggestions).
On mobile (in beta), tap the three dots at the top right and select “Settings” to access the Tile Preview. Tap the Tile Cover, or the “Change Cover” button to select another option.
Visible To
Lets you target your News item at a particular audience using the List Selector. Learn more.
Feature in Banner
Lets you draw attention to a News item by displaying for a set duration in a carousel that stretches across the top of your News view.
Sign Off
Requires each reader to sign off that they have read and understood this News item. Learn more.
Commenting
You can toggle comments on or off for your article as well as whether you want to be notified about them or not.
Publish Date and Auto-Archive
These options allow you to set a time and date in the future to publish and/or remove your item from the News view.
Pin (so new users see)
Allows you to pin must-read News items (policy changes, employee guides, etc.) at the top of your News feed for all current and future users, until read.
Publishing Role
News Editors and/or Reporters that belong to more than one one Reporter Group may be prompted to select their Publishing Role in order to access certain features.
Management
Publishing items
When you have finished creating your News item, you can click Publish at the top of the screen or Publish and Notify, if applicable (learn more about Notify here).
Scheduling items
If you set a Publish Date for your item, then instead of a Publish button you will see a Schedule button. Clicking this button (or the Schedule and Notify option) will send your item to the Scheduled list and then automatically post it on the date you set.
Saving drafts
If you're not ready to publish, then you can open the drop down menu in the Publish button and select Save Draft so you can come back to it later.
To edit a published item, open the item and click the Edit link in the upper right corner.
Managing items
At the top of the main News view, you can click on the action menu icon (aka "three dots") to access and manage the tables containing your Drafts, Published, Scheduled, and Archived items as well download overall viewing and sharing metrics reports.
To download detailed metrics for Published and Archived News items, select “View Published” or “View Archived” from the action menu (three dots) of the main News view and then open the action menu (three dots) in the top right corner and select Download Metrics.
Duplicating items
News Editors have the ability to duplicate any News item and use it as a template for a similar item. This can be done two ways:
- via the action menu while in Viewing mode of a published item
- from the action menu of an item on any of the management tables mentioned above (Archived, Published, Draft, Scheduled)
A duplicated item will copy all of the content and settings from the original (except for any time-related settings) and will be placed in the Draft table so the News Editor can make any changes to it they wish before saving or publishing it.
The default title of the duplicated item (which can be edited) will be the same as the original item's title, but prefaced with "Copy of".
This feature is also very useful for ghostwriting, or publishing an article on someone else's behalf. For example, if a CEO wants someone to publish an article under their name, then a News Editor can just go to any article that was previously published by the CEO, duplicate it, then use that as a template for the new article. When they go to publish the new article they can opt to keep the CEO as the author and then publish it on their behalf.
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